


And It's Supposed to be the Day of Love

by Black_Rose_Authoress



Series: Pleasantville [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, F/M, Genderbending, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-06
Updated: 2010-02-02
Packaged: 2018-02-26 08:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2644634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Rose_Authoress/pseuds/Black_Rose_Authoress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lovina finally agrees to go the Valentine's Dance with Antonio. But not because she likes him or anything!...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So it was requested by a few different people that I cross-post my Pleasantville series onto Ao3 for purposes of downloading. So, I shall begin doing so now. :) 
> 
> An introduction for any new readers. This series began in January of 2010 and has been going on since then and it initially started with this fic and now consists of 15 separate fics. Woohoo!! So it'll take me some time to post them all over here, especially since a number of those fics consist of 50+ chapters. xD They were originally published under the name of Black.Rose.Authoress (which is my preferred penname, but this site didn't like my dots) over on fanfiction.net.
> 
> A thing I'd like to make note of is that since this series has been developing for more than 7 years now (and I initially hadn't planned on it being a series) is that the canon has changed drastically from the original stories to the later stories. I will still post the original stories here, but do be aware that for any contradictions, whatever was stated later is what is actually accurate. xD Especially for this fic. There are many many things in this fic that are later contradicted.

She'd spent all day getting ready. Not to impress  _him_  or anything. After all, he was the sort of guy who would never notice what she was wearing. No, the only reason she'd taken this much time getting ready was because she was  _going_ to look better than her sister. She'd been planning it for months. Her chance to finally show up her little sister. She'd ordered the dress straight from Venice, going through her uncle's semi-shady connections to make sure that it got to her on time and in perfect condition. She'd gone to get her hair, nails, and makeup professionally done. She'd even gone on a diet and spent at least an hour at the gym everyday for the past few months in order to make sure that she was in perfect condition.

And all to make sure that, for once in her life, she would be  _better_ than Feliciana.

It had nothing to do with  _him,_  as there was no way she'd go to this much trouble to impress an idiot like him.

She stood in front of the mirror, checking for the umpteenth time to make sure that everything was in order. Her hair was still in its perfect little ringlets, various strands threaded with tiny beads that sparkled when the light caught them. Her makeup was perfect, drawing attention to her eyes and lips without looking like she was  _trying_ to draw attention to them. Her dress was beautiful, complementing her figure perfectly, a dark green colour that was the exact shade of his eyes—not that she'd thought of that at the time! Of course not. She just happened to like the colour… Plus, she'd even managed, while getting ready; to finagle her bra in order to show some of the cleavage that she often found lacking. Particularly when compared to her sister…

She smirked slightly and nodded, glancing toward the clock on the wall. Her stomach immediately lurched nervously. How the hell was it that late? She only had five minutes until Antonio was supposed to show up.

Not that she was nervous. Especially not about him. He probably wouldn't even notice all of the work she'd put into this. Not that she'd done it for him, but still…

As far as he was concerned, she could show up in sweatpants and a hoodie, with her hair up in a ponytail, without any makeup, and he'd still tell her that she looked absolutely gorgeous. Idiot. As if any girl really looked good like that.

Anyway, the only reason she'd even agreed to go to the dance with him was because…

1) This was the perfect opportunity to show once and for all that she could be better than her sister at something. After being beat by her in everything from art, to sports, to breast size, to cooking, to popularity, to getting a boyfriend (stupid potato bastard pervert)… She was  _finally_ going to beat her in looks if it killed her.

2) If she went alone, she just knew that she'd have to deal with people talking behind her back for the entire thing. 'Did you see Lovina?' 'Yeah, surprised she even came since she's all alone.' 'Well, it's no surprise is it? What guy would want to go out with  _her_?' Not that she cared what people thought about her. They were all just jealous. She could get any guy she wanted if she so desired. She just thought most of them were complete idiots who weren't worth her time.

3) She'd finally gotten so sick of Antonio's constant pestering, which consisted of everything from love notes in her locker, to random proclamations of love in the hallway, to carrying her books between classes (which she'd actually agreed to, since they were rather heavy), to offering her his jacket at the pep rally (which she'd blatantly refused and told him to give it to one of his fucking fan girls), that she'd just given in and accepted. Particularly after that one day…

She'd been in the middle of changing for gym class at the time, her jeans already off, her gym shirt only half on. Not the best time for someone to come up and start to talk to you. Particularly when said person happened to be Gillian Beilschmidt. AKA: The older sister of the potato bastard pervert who was dating Feliciana, AKA: One of Antonio's best friends, AKA: The girl in school who probably figured in about ninety percent of the school's male population's wet dreams, but was way too out of reach for anyone to dare asking her out. For a few reasons…

Firstly, she seemed to be rather oblivious to the fact that she was quite possibly the most gorgeous girl in the school; in fact, it occasionally seemed as if she had completely forgotten that she was, in fact, a girl. She hung out mostly with the guys and could hold her own in all of their activities. Video gaming, sports, telling dirty jokes… For that reason, most of the guys felt rather intimidated by her. Or would ask her out and she would just interpret it as a hanging out session. Those few guys that did decide to ask her out as a girlfriend instead faced another problem.

Namely, Antonio and Francis, who seemed to consider it their personal job to screen all guys that attempted to get close to their best friend. Nobody yet had managed to get past them.

So, when Gill suddenly walked up to her while in the middle of changing, Lovina felt understandably nervous. Particularly, as she happened to be coming towards her while only wearing a matching set of bra and panties—which Lovina noticed out of reflex happened to be pink with a print of yellow chicks.

"Hey, Lovi?"

Lovina hurriedly finished pulling her shirt on and tugged it down as far as she could to cover her bare legs. "Lovina," she corrected automatically. She didn't mind Feliciana calling her Lovi and she'd long ago given up on correcting Antonio, but she'd be damned if anybody else decided to call her by some cutesy nickname.

Gill shrugged as if she didn't much care what she called her and continued, "So, are you going to the Valentine's Dance with anyone?"

Lovina crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the older girl irritably. She could sense people watching her…or watching Gill. She could see from her angle that one of the other girls was definitely watching Gill, although judging by the way she kept glancing away with a beet-red flush on her face, she was probably attempting to keep herself from doing so… She couldn't remember the girl's name. Not that Ally girl. She was going after the British kid. Her sister, right? Twin sister from Canada who never talked in class…

She suddenly realized she'd let her mind wander and turned her attention back to the albino girl standing in front of her. "What does that matter to you?"

Gill sighed and ran her hand through her long, silvery-coloured hair, glancing back toward her locker as if regretting coming over. "Antonio really wants you to go with him. I mean,  _really_ wants you to go with him. In case you haven't noticed that he's been hitting on you for the past two years. And Francis and I are probably going to murder him if we have to hear him go on about your—" Here she slipped into a falsetto "long brown hair and honey-coloured eyes and how when you blush, you look just like 'un tomatito'." She slipped back into her normal voice and set her hands on her hips, glaring down at the smaller girl with her semi-eerie red eyes. "Come on. Give the guy a break. Or at least give  _us_ a break from hearing him going on about you for hours on end."

Lovina had been saved from answering then by the gym teacher coming in and yelling at them to hurry up and finish changing. However, when she'd left class and found Antonio standing in his usual spot, waiting to walk her to lunch, she'd shoved her books into his arms and exclaimed, "Fine! I'll go with you to the stupid dance, damn it! Just leave me alone!"

And that was why she'd agreed to go with him. She had absolutely no romantic interest in him whatsoever. Just because he was attractive and desired by pretty much every girl in school did not mean that she would be susceptible as well.

She was suddenly startled from her internal thoughts when she heard a very familiar voice from behind her. "Wow, Lovi, you look amazing."

She spun around, more than prepared to yell at him—of course it would be Antonio, who else?—for walking into her room without knocking. What if she'd been changing still? But then she stopped, the words dying in her throat.

Because he looked…Amazing…

Even she had to admit that Antonio was incredibly attractive. She heard it enough, after all, from other girls. Mostly ones who liked to complain—pretending that they hadn't noticed her presence—about how he could have any girl, so why would he want somebody as plain and bad-tempered as her?

He was Spanish, which was enough for a lot of the girls. They'd gush about his accent and how they'd take Spanish as a foreign language just so they had an excuse to ask him to tutor them so they could hear him speaking in his own language. She'd taken German just to spite them and so she'd be able to understand that potato bastard when he tried to sweet-talk her sister. Plus she'd learned a bunch of curse words that she enjoyed using on him, as well.

Antonio had short, dark hair that eternally held the wind-blown look that girls would swoon over. He was tanned and muscular from working outside all of the time. His parents owned a farm that he helped them take care of and he also rented himself out as manual labour to his neighbors' farms. His eyes were that beautiful green colour that just happened to be her favourite colour…

So even she'd admit that he was incredibly good-looking. But she'd never seen him like this. He was wearing a suit, which surprised her a little, as she'd half expected him to come in wearing jeans and a t-shirt. But what had really caught her attention was the fact that he hadn't completely finished buttoning the shirt and had left the jacket completely undone, leaving his throat and the top of his chest bare.

God, he was fit.

And she was not staring!

"Um…" What he'd said finally managed to break through her thoughts and she flushed slightly, unconsciously crossing her arms over her chest and pushing up slightly at her bra. "We should get going, bastard."

He grinned brightly, suddenly pulling a rose into view and offering it to her. "I figured that you wouldn't want anything big, so here. A single rose for the most beautiful girl on earth."

She flushed even brighter and nervously cleared her throat. "Quit being all sappy-romantic on me. I only agreed to go with you so you'd quit bothering me."

His grin only widened and he shrugged slightly. "Either way." He moved closer and slipped the rose into her hand, grabbing the other one and tugging her gently toward the door. "We should get going or we'll be late."

Late for—? Oh yeah, the dance. Idiot had almost made her forget.

She followed him outside to where his car was parked. Or, where someone's car was parked. Definitely not his old, rust heap of a car that was constantly on the verge of collapsing. She'd ridden in that car with him once before—when she'd missed the bus and had no other way to get home since her uncle wasn't answering his cell phone and Feliciana was M.I.A. (with the potato bastard, she later found out). She'd told him after the ride that she was never going in that death trap again, as she'd been terrified for her life the entire time.

"Whose car did you steal?" she questioned, hesitating outside of the passenger's door. This car looked so brand new that she almost didn't want to touch it in case he actually  _had_ stolen it. Considering the fact that he was best friends with Gill and Francis, she almost wouldn't be surprised.

"I borrowed this from Francis. He borrowed his parents' limo for tonight to impress what's-her-name."

Ah, yes, Mr. 'I get a new car sent to me every other week from my parents since they feel guilty about never being home'. Not that Francis seemed to mind. He seemed to absolutely love having a mansion entirely to himself and whatever girl or boy he was dating that week.

"Figures." She slipped inside. If this was Francis's car, then she couldn't care less if she damaged it. "Why don't you just ask him for one of his old cars to replace yours instead of working yourself into an early grave? I'm sure he would be more than happy to give you one."

Antonio slipped into the driver's seat and flashed her a slightly-strained smile. "And where would the fun be in that?"

She stared at him for a moment and then snorted, leaning forward to fiddle with the radio, turning up the volume to almost eardrum-killing levels. Idiot… Guys and their pride…

The car ride to the school was void of conversation, mostly due to the fact that it would be impossible to hold a conversation with the volume at its current level.

She sighed when they arrived. The parking lot was almost full, which meant that they'd have to park a million miles away. And in heels… Ugh…

Lovina flashed a quick, disapproving glare at Antonio. Which he didn't even have the decency to notice, as he was finally buttoning his shirt and jacket, even slipping a tie from the glove compartment and attempting to tie it. Failing rather spectacularly too.

After a few seconds of watching him, she finally groaned and leaned over, grabbing the fabric and tugging him towards her. "Let me do it, idiot. Otherwise we'll be here all night."

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes widened in slight surprise. Then he hurriedly nodded, clearing his throat and averting his eyes. "I—I don't wear ties very often."

It felt silk, which surprised her a bit. Although, probably Antonio had borrowed it from Francis too. And probably the suit as well.

He'd worked really hard to make himself look nice tonight… for her?

She flushed again, as she pulled the knot tight and then looked up into his eyes, which were focused intently on her.

Those ridiculously pretty green eyes.

She could feel one of his hands slide to her back and push her just the tiniest fraction of an inch closer, moving forward in the same motion, his eyes intent on hers as if asking her if this was all right.

She… didn't want to move away… Actually, she started to move closer too, her eyes fixed on his…

Before they were suddenly startled by the screeching of tires and a loud, jarring car horn.

"What the fuck are you doing, you stupid frog?! I almost ran you over! Wait a second…Why the fuck did I stop?"

"Mon ami!" And then Francis was at Antonio's door, dragging a girl behind him who was wearing a dress that could only be really considered an outfit if you stretched the definition of 'outfit' a bit… "Antoine! I was wondering when you'd be getting here! Antoine, this is mon cher …" He hesitated for a moment, probably racking through his files of girls for her name.

"Olivia," she offered, after a moment.

Francis continued as if he hadn't just forgotten his date's name. "Oui, oui. Olivia, this is mon ami Antoine. And his petit tomate" He winked at her at the nickname "Lovina."

She flashed him a look that hopefully radiated her intense hate for him right now. He'd just interrupted…actually, she wasn't sure what he'd just interrupted… Whatever it was, part of her mind was incredibly angry with him right now. Unfortunately, however, he didn't burst into flame like that part of her hoped. Instead, he just grinned back and grabbed Antonio's arm, pulling him closer so he could whisper something into his ear, which suddenly caused a blush to stain his cheeks…

"Sí," Antonio remarked after a few seconds, slipping his hand into his pants pocket for a moment. Francis grinned and tugged the girl after him, waving back at them and blowing an air kiss to the British student who was still attempting to find a parking spot.

They remained silent for a moment, Lovina flushing at the thought of what she'd almost done. She hadn't…she wasn't interested in Antonio…so why in the world had she almost…

She'd almost kissed him. Or let him kiss her, which was almost the same thing.

Thankfully, he suddenly distracted her by turning in his seat and flashing her his usual grin. "Well, you ready to go in, Lovi, or do you want to wait out here all night?"

She immediately pushed the door open, almost hitting the truck beside them. "Let's go, idiot."


	2. Chapter 2

Ludwig had long ago learned the valuable art of being able to focus on multiple things. After all, when you were dating someone like Feli while simultaneously having a sister like Gillian, it was practically a prerequisite. He had to keep one eye on Feli at all times to make sure that she didn't trip and skin her knee or tear her dress or get hit on by Francis, while he also had to make sure that Gill didn't blow something up, or spike the punch, or get hit on by any unsuitable guys. Unsuitable by Ludwig's definition. Which would apply to about ninety-eight percent of the guys here.

At the moment, however, he was having trouble with his multitasking.

Mainly because he was having a panic-attack.

Ludwig knew that he was not very good at this whole "romance" thing. He was probably the only student in the school to have gone up to the librarians in the school library and ask them for self-help books on dating. But…when you were dating someone as…exuberant with her affection as Feliciana, how else was he supposed to know how to react to her?

Right now Feliciana was sitting beside him at the table, engaged in a conversation with Toris, the Lithuanian student in her home economics class, not even paying him any attention. Which would have given him the perfect opportunity to calm himself down and glare at all of the men flocking around his older sister.

However, instead he was staring at Feli out of the corner of his eye and completely failing at keeping himself from hyperventilating.

He'd checked out every book on dating from the library and visited a few hundred websites for advice on going on a formal date before he'd come to this. They hadn't helped…at all. As he was still twitching and sweating like crazy. Which made absolutely no sense, since he was usually perfectly fine around Feliciana.

Maybe it was because she was all dressed up tonight and looked absolutely stunning? Or because he was surrounded by hearts and lace and pink frillyness?

Whatever it was, he couldn't concentrate on both her and his sister at the same time. Which was really a pain, since he could see that Antonio and Francis hadn't arrived yet, either. Which meant that Gill was completely alone and easy prey for all of the unsuitable men who were taking this rare opportunity to get close to her.

He should probably give her more credit…

Then again, this was  _Gill_ that he was talking about.

"Ve~ Ludwig? Are you hot?"

"Eh?" He jumped out of his thoughts and stared into Feli's slightly concerned expression. Her eyes had been outlined in purple eyeliner, which only drew his attention to their deep dark colouring. Shit. Why did she have to look so pretty right now? It wasn't helping him think at all. "Uh, uh, no…No, I'm fine." He hurriedly pushed his chair back and rose from the table. "Would you like me to get you a drink?"

She tilted her head slightly to the side, obviously not entirely believing him, but then she grinned and nodded. "All right, and get yourself a drink too, Ludwig. You look hot. And you keep fanning yourself with your place card."

He hadn't even noticed that he was holding a place card. Ludwig flushed and set the little piece of cardboard on the table, darting around the tables and gyrating bodies on the dance floor toward the drinks' table. Once he was there, he paused and just stood for a moment, breathing heavily.

Okay, calm down, Ludwig. Just remember what those books and websites had said.

...Damn it. He couldn't remember anything. All he could think about was how she looked when she looked up at him and how it made his heart absolutely race and…

His thoughts were interrupted by an overly familiar female voice complaining from a few feet away. "We're leaving…"

And an also familiar voice that sounded as if the owner was currently riding on a wave of euphoria. "Lovi~ we just got here."

"Everything's fucking pink. And covered in hearts…"

Ludwig groaned and dropped his head into his palms. Somebody up there hated him. Either that or just really liked to watch him suffer.

And then the voice was within an arm's length and sounded as if the owner was attempting to kill him just with the amount of hatred in her voice. "Potato bastard."

He sighed and turned from the table, grabbing two of the drinks so he'd have something to keep his hands occupied. If he didn't, he might just end up attempting to either kill himself…or Lovina. Both of which would be rather negative actions to take.

"Hello, Lovina. I wasn't aware that you were coming to this." He really should have guessed, though. She would do anything to make his life miserable.

The incredibly irritated Italian girl was standing in front of him now, her hands resting on her hips as she glared at him. Antonio was standing behind her, offering him a grin that plainly stated 'sorry about this, but I'm not doing anything to get her angry at me'. Which meant he had to face the scarily overprotective older sister of his girlfriend all alone.

"I have to make sure that you keep your filthy hands off of Feli," she replied, her eyes narrowing as she spat the words at him.

When had he ever touched Feliciana? He couldn't understand why Lovi hated him so much. He'd never done anything to either of them… Still, he knew better than to attempt to defend himself. It just made her more angry. Instead, he searched the crowd for something to distract her. "Um, I promised Feliciana that I'd get her a drink, so I should probably…"

And then Lovina grabbed the glasses right out of his hands and turned to hand them off to Antonio, who accepted them with a slightly confused expression. "Probably spiked them with some date rape drug. _I'll_  get her a drink." She immediately marched over to the table of drinks and eyed them as if attempting through sight alone to make sure that he hadn't done anything to them.

Ludwig sighed and shook his head slightly, glancing toward the Spaniard who was now sipping at one of the drinks, obviously not worrying about date rape drugs. "I don't know what you see in her, Antonio."

Antonio just grinned and shrugged, following her with his eyes as he held the glass to his lips. "She's just trying to take care of her sister. You do the same thing with Gill."

Still. He knew these guys. He heard what they said to each other about Gill when they didn't realize that he was around. He had a very good reason to be worried about her. He, on the other hand, had never done anything the least bit inappropriate with Feli. They'd never even kissed anywhere than on the cheeks…

"Here, potato bastard." And the psychotic overprotective older sister reappeared with a new pair of drinks and flashed him a suspicious look. "And I'll be watching you until you get back to the table, so don't even think about trying to slip her something."

He sighed, deciding that it wasn't even worth saying anything else. She wouldn't listen anyway. "Fine, Lovi. Have a nice time." Please please please leave him alone… If there is a God, keep the psycho sister away from him.

Lovina glared at Ludwig as he walked back to the table where her sister was seated. She scowled as she noticed how Feli practically attacked him with a hug the moment he sat down, hanging off of his arm and accepting the drink without even checking it for signs of drugs. She was going to have to give the girl a stern talking to later.

"These taste all right to me," Antonio suddenly commented, slipping one of the drinks into her line of sight. "It'd be a shame to let them go to waste."

She glared at the glass and then turned to face away from him. "As if I'd take anything that you offered me. Even if he didn't spike it, I'm sure that you would."

Antonio shrugged and set the glasses back down on the table, also knowing that it wasn't worth attempting to defend himself. Instead, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her hands, tugging her toward the dance floor. "Come on, let's dance."

"Hey! What do you think you're doing bast—" Her protests were ignored as she was suddenly spun out into the middle of the bodies, the sharp movement forcing her to grab onto his arms to keep from falling flat on her face. Whose idea had it been to wear heels?

Antonio also didn't give her much of a chance to figure out what exactly was happening, as he had an arm around her waist, the other holding her hand as he spun her around in something that definitely wasn't what everyone else was doing.

"You—you know how to dance, bastard?"

He grinned and nodded, his emerald eyes entrancing. She knew she should probably be protesting more, but he kept moving and spinning her around, making it too difficult to figure out how to react. "You're so lovely tonight, Lovi. I can't say it enough."

She flushed slightly at the compliment and opened her mouth to retort when she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Lovina Vargas!"

She jumped slightly at the sudden exclamation and turned. Or attempted to turn. Antonio's grip on her waist suddenly tightened and she found herself crushed against his chest, so she couldn't really move very far. Just enough to see that she'd been called by that Turkish kid, Sadiq, in her math class. Probably the only person in this school who was even more annoying in his attempts at getting her to date him than Antonio. Since he'd actually attempted to kiss her against her will the last time she'd said no.

"You look absolutely stunning," he immediately exclaimed, completely ignoring Antonio's presence. "But I thought that you weren't coming to the dance. Isn't that what you told me when I asked you out?"

"Lovina can go to whatever event she wants to," Antonio interrupted, his grip on her waist tightening.

Sadiq continued to ignore him, his attention completely on Lovina. "Well, since you're here, would you give me the honour of a dance with the most beautiful woman in this room?"

She started to open her mouth again, ready to tell him to go fuck himself, when she was interrupted again. What the hell was with these guys not letting her talk? It was really annoying.

"Sorry, but Lovi's with me tonight."

She probably would have been more irritated if it weren't for the fact that out of the options of staying with Antonio and going with Sadiq, she'd definitely prefer staying with Antonio. Not that she liked Antonio, really, but at least he didn't try to stick his hand up under her skirt and make out with her when she'd plainly said 'no, and if you don't leave me alone, I'll chop your balls off and feed them to you through a straw'.

"Unless she wants to go with you."

Lovina snorted at the statement. "Fuck off, asshole."

Antonio continued without even reacting to her language. "So if you'd be kind enough to leave us be?"

Sadiq looked as if he were about to argue, but then seemed to think the better of it as he received matching glares from both. He, better than anyone, was well-aware that Antonio could be rather brutal when it came to Lovina. He'd learned  _that_ when they were still kids having swordfights with sticks out in the middle of the street. Antonio had always had a soft spot for the girl, even back then, so when she'd come up to them and demand to play, he'd always given in. A bunch of the other boys had been rather irritated by this, as there was nothing more uncool than being forced to play with a  _girl_ , so a few of them had decided to try to scare her into leaving them alone by abandoning her in the woods during what she thought was a war game.

They'd expected her to eventually find her own way out, but she didn't come home that night. Which had led to her grandfather calling basically every family in the neighborhood to ask if they knew where she was. All of the boys had lied, at that point absolutely terrified that they'd get in trouble for leaving her alone. The police had gotten involved, they'd sent out search parties… It was almost a full two days before they finally found her stuck at the bottom of a ravine, her leg broken from falling down the embankment.

She refused to tell her family or the police or any other adults why she'd been in the woods at that time, but somehow Antonio had coaxed it out of her. And he'd then gone to their clubhouse one morning while they were all still asleep and tore the place to pieces, waiting there for them to arrive while sitting calmly with the ax on his lap.

In most cases, Sadiq definitely wouldn't be giving up this early, but that was still a very potent memory. And Antonio was starting to flash him a look that was overly similar to the one he'd held while sitting there with his ax surrounded by rubble.

"All right, all right. You two lovebirds have your fun. I can tell when I'm not wanted."

He beat a hasty retreat, glancing toward the table where her sister was sitting with Ludwig. Maybe he could go after the other twin?

There was silence between them for a few moments, and then Antonio suddenly remarked, "You know, Lovi, that I don't approve of foul language in most cases."

Which reminded her that she was still leaning against his chest. She hurriedly broke away and turned to face him. "Yeah…so? I'll use whatever language I—"

"However," he continued, still glaring in the direction that Sadiq had run off. "I will accept it in circumstances involving guys like that."

She rolled her eyes. She was definitely detecting some jealousy in his voice…which was actually almost endearing… "That guy's an asshole. Like I'd ever accept a dance with him."

Antonio's gaze immediately returned to her, where it immediately softened. "Really? Then, will you accept one with me?"

"You haven't really given me much of a choice, have you?"

Antonio shrugged slightly, his usual grin crossing over his lips. "I am now? Is that any better?"

She sighed and glanced back toward the table where Ludwig was now eyeing Sadiq with a murderous glare as the bastard hit on her sister. That could be a rather entertaining fight. "All right, but just because I know that you aren't going to let up on me until I agree. And just one dance…"

His hand slipped back around her waist and pulled her closer, a happy smile crossing over his expression as he leaned closer so she could feel his hot breath against her ear as he whispered. "That's all I could ever ask for."


	3. Chapter 3

Lovina was starting to like the potato bastard a little more. Just a little, though. Not enough to actually, you know, trust him around her little sister, but enough to maybe stop sending him anonymous threats that she'd written in her slowly-developing German.

She rethought that. Maybe she'd just send less of them. She could go down to only one a week.

As he had just taken Sadiq out with a single punch when the Turkish bastard had attempted to put his hand up her sister's dress.

It had really been an excellent blow. She hated to admit that she was ever impressed by the German, but Sadiq had gone out like a light and was now lying passed out on the floor. Feliciana had been startled, of course, but had been sufficiently distracted when the pasta arrived at her table.

Which reminded her…

Lovina immediately turned to Antonio, who was apparently attempting to do origami with his napkin, and poked him hard in the side. "Why'd you pick the table that gets food last?"

He glanced up and offered an apologetic grin, shrugging slightly. "Technically Francis chose the table and we didn't know where they'd start."

"Where  _is_ Francis, then?" Where was anybody? They were sitting at a table that had been meant to hold eight, but was now entirely empty besides themselves. She was starting to wonder whether Antonio had planned it this way just so he could get her alone. Although if he  _had_ , then he officially sucked at knowing what to do when he had a girl alone.

Not that she wanted him to do anything, but he hadn't even tried to kiss her once since they'd been interrupted in the car by Francis almost getting run over by Arthur.

And he'd had plenty of opportunities! They'd spent most of the beginning of the night on the dance floor. She wasn't entirely sure how it had happened, as she'd only agreed to one dance, which had somehow turned into two, and then three, and then more, until the DJ had announced that dinner was about to be served and they should go to their assigned table and wait for their teachers to serve them.

The other occupants of said table apparently hadn't gotten the memo, though.

She was starting to feel a little antsy at the complete lack of action that he was taking. "Well, aren't you going to do something?"

Antonio looked a little surprised at her statement. "Do what?"

"You haven't tried to do anything all night. I thought this was supposed to be a Valentine's Day dance or whatever. You know, love, hearts, all that romantic shit. Why haven't you tried to do anything?" Part of her brain was questioning her sanity right now. She didn't  _want_ him to act all romantic. Wasn't that what she complained to him about all the time?

But…it was weird when he acted like this. Even when they'd been dancing, he'd always held her at proper arm's length. Completely unlike the rest of the couples who were grinding against each other in manners that shouldn't be seen outside of the bedroom. He hadn't tried to kiss her or grope her or even say stupid romantic things to her in Spanish!

"Ah?" He looked confused. "But…I thought you didn't like those sorts of things, Lovi?"

"I don't, asshole, but you're  _always_ being all mushy romantic. It makes me think you're up to something."

He immediately shook his head, looking a little panicked by her remark. "No, no, Lovi. I just thought that…since you hated it so much, you'd prefer it if I didn't do anything."

"N—no…" She hesitated, flashing him an irritated glare before she ran her fingers through her hair and started to remark. "I hate all of that mushy crap, but…it…it's too weird if you just stop doing it. You aren't acting like Antonio."

"So…" He hesitated for a few moments, as if attempting to figure out what exactly she'd just said. Even Lovina wasn't entirely sure what it had meant. "Are you saying that you want me to act the way I usually act?"

"N—ye—just do whatever the fuck you want!" She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head furiously to the side, a flush crossing her cheeks. Fuck, she knew she wasn't making any sense and it was really pissing her off. "I don't care what you do!"

"Ah, Lovina, Antoine. Mes amis…"

Lovina glanced up, more than prepared to start yelling at Francis out of frustration with herself, Antonio, and whoever had decided to make their table get food last. She was hungry, damn it! However, she stopped when she saw him and gaped at him friend in shock.

"What the hell happened to you, Francis?"

Francis basically looked as if he'd been in a brawl. His jacket was completely missing, along with his tie; his shirt was torn, most of the buttons missing. If it weren't for the fact that his neck and the chest that was revealed by his torn shirt were covered with scratches and lipstick smudges, she'd think that he'd finally been caught by a jealous boyfriend. He'd probably been shagging some girl in one of the janitor's closets. That wouldn't be surprising. Although he usually wouldn't come back from one of his romantic trysts with an ice pack held up against his eye, which—when he pulled it away—was revealed to be almost swollen shut.

"Ah, let us just say that Mademoiselle…" He paused and then groaned, waving vaguely toward them. "I can never remember her name…"

"Olivia?"

"Oui, oui. Well, I was merely…" He paused for a moment. "Merely conversing about some rather interesting topics with another lovely mademoiselle when Olivia found us. She was rather incensed." He winced as his icepack moved. "And she has a rather powerful right hook."

Lovina snorted. "Conversing meaning making out? Or worse…wouldn't surprise me. But really? She was surprised that you were cheating on her? What rock has she been living under since you were twelve?"

Antonio flashed her a disapproving stare, but Francis just chuckled in amusement and shrugged, dropping into the seat next to Antonio. "Not quite that early, mon cheri." He glanced around the table, his eyebrows rising slightly in surprise. "Now, where is mon petit Gill?" He turned to try to catch a glimpse of her at one of the other tables.

Antonio shrugged. "I haven't seen her since the beginning of the night."

"She didn't tell us that she was going to do anything tonight," Francis remarked, frowning. "Ludwig always checks her before she leaves to make sure that she doesn't bring any explosives since last time."

"Which is so unfair. Seriously, you blow up one toilet and they act like you tried to set the school on fire."

Lovina almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice coming from behind her. She whirled around to see Gill standing behind her chair, a smirk stretching across her lips as she rested one hand on her hip. The other was—shockingly enough—wrapped around Ally's hand.

Wait. Lovina took a closer look. No, this wasn't Ally. This girl's hair was a bit longer and curlier. And Ally would never be standing so meekly next to Gill. That girl would have been talking a mile a minute, bouncing up and down in excitement and probably munching on a cheeseburger that she would have smuggled in.

Francis seemed to take the sudden arrival in stride, as he immediately grinned, slipping back into flirting mode. Even with a black eye, Francis would hit on anything standing on two legs. "Ah, we were just wondering where you were, Gill. And who is this lovely lady?"

The girl looked horrified at having his attention directed to her. She was flushing beet red, her grip on Gill's hand tightening. Lovina was pretty sure she'd never seen a more contrasting pair. Gill was standing there—like usual, dripping absolute confidence, dressed in a way that had most of the guy's eyes magnetized to her (not that she noticed…it was so hard to dislike someone for being beautiful when they didn't even realize it), and with a wide, triumphant grin stretched over her lips. The little mousy figure, on the other hand, looked as if she'd rather be anywhere than here. She was dressed much more conservatively than Gill—than most of the girls here, actually—in a red sweater with a white maple leaf on the front, a black pencil-skirt, and black Mary Janes.

"This is Mattie," Gill replied, swinging their connected hands back and forth a few times. "She was sitting all alone at her table so I invited her over here."

"Ah, Mattea?" Francis immediately nodded in recognition. "Ally's twin sister from Canada, oui?"

"Oui," she responded in a very soft voice that was about as different from her sister's voice as you could possibly get. They could barely hear her sitting only a few feet away.

Francis looked absolutely ecstatic at the idea of having someone new to flirt with. He immediately patted the seat beside him. "Très bien, mon cher…"

Gill flashed him a dirty look and pulled hard on Mattea's arm. "Hey, I found her. She's mine."

"But, mon ami," Francis whined teasingly. "We're friends, right? And friends share."

Mattea looked even more freaked out by the statement. Lovina was starting to wonder if Gill's hand was starting to hurt from the pressure the shy girl was putting on it. "Ah…if you'd prefer, I can go sit somewhere—"

Gill didn't even allow her the opportunity to finish. Instead, she was dragged down into one of the seats, Gill seating herself right beside her and flashing Francis an irritated glare. "No way! You're sitting with us! If Francis starts acting like an asshole—well more of an asshole than he always does, then we'll just kick him out!"

"Mon ami~! You hurt my feelings by even joking about such a thing!"

Gill flashed him a grin that was all teeth. "Who said that I was joking?"

Mattea looked extremely unsure of how to act. She stared down at her placemat, played with a string hanging from the bottom of her sweater, and flashed surreptitious glances toward Gill when she thought no one was looking.

Lovina glanced toward where the teachers were standing with their plates of food. Still forever away. "Damn it, when are we going to get to eat!?" she complained, crossing her arms over her chest and flashing a death glare toward Francis, who just winked back and blew her a kiss.

"Soon," Antonio replied, flashing her a grin.

…Why the fuck did he have to look so attractive when he did that? Stupid jerk.

She spent the next few minutes watching Anto—not watching Antonio, just looking over in that general direction. And getting more irritated as he joked with Gill and Francis and even Mattea.

He was ignoring her! He couldn't ignore her! He'd invited her to this stupid Valentine's Day thing with him so he should definitely not be ignoring her. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back toward the potato bastard's table… At probably the most inopportune moment, as she caught a glimpse of him leaning down to kiss her sister on the forehead.

Stupid romantic setting and stupid dates and stupid people who waited forever to give them food and stupid potato bastards kissing her stupid sister…

"Lovi, are you okay?"

And now the most stupid person out of all of the stupid people here was  _finally_ paying her attention.

"I want my food, damn it. Why did I even agree to come here with you?"

He grinned again. Damn it. Why didn't he react like a normal person? A normal person should be insulted by the remark.

And then— _finally—_ one of the teacher-waitresses was standing by their table with a tray filled with plates of pasta. One of which she set in front of Antonio before moving on in the opposite direction. Which meant she would be getting her dinner last.

Figured.

It also figured when the teacher—one that she didn't recognize—set the last plate of pasta down. In front of Francis.

"Oops, sorry. I must have miscounted. I'll be back in just a minute."

Someone up there hated her. Or it was karma coming to bite her on the ass for forcing Feli to eat sand when they were three by telling her that it was a new type of pasta with really tiny noodles. Or it could be for the time she'd slammed Sadiq's hand in a door when he tried to stick his hand up her skirt. Or the time she had pushed Antonio off a pool deck when she was ten and he'd broken his arm…which had been a complete accident, by the way. She'd forgotten that they weren't on the ground at the time…

There were a lot of things that karma could actually be getting her back for, the more that she thought about it.

But she was suddenly interrupted from her thoughts when a plate was suddenly shoved into her spot.

For a few seconds, she just stared down at it in surprise. Then she turned toward Antonio, who was attempting (and failing) to look entirely innocent.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He froze, looking slightly guilty. As if he'd actually thought she wouldn't immediately know who had given it to her. "What do you mean, Lovi?"

"Why'd you give me your pasta, idiot?" She nodded toward the plate and glared at him suspiciously. "Now you don't have any."

He smiled slightly at the remark and shook his head quickly. "She'll bring out more soon."

Now, Lovina was nowhere near as obsessive over food as her little sister—she considered that a strong point in her favour in the 'which sister is better' fight. She did not spend hours in the kitchen everyday attempting new recipes for pastas and pasta-sauces like Feli did. Pastas which she would then feed to the potato bastard, who didn't seem to have the ability to say no when she made him food. Didn't have the ability to say no when she said anything, actually. Stupid sister had the damn potato bastard wrapped around her pinky.

And her obsession with tomatoes did not count. As everyone knew that tomatoes were the best foods on the planet.

Anyway, she wasn't as obsessed over pasta as Feli was, but the idea of someone voluntarily giving up this tasty dish, the scent of which was currently wafting up and making her mouth water, was entirely unbelievable. She just stared at him in shock for a few moments and then pushed the plate back. "What are you talking about? This is yours."

"But you've been saying that you were hungry for a while now. I can wait."

She had always known that there was something wrong with Antonio's brain, but she hadn't known that it was this bad. No one refused pasta. It was like an unwritten rule. Sane people did not give away their pasta. Even insane people, which she had long ago decided he was, shouldn't give away their pasta.

He sighed as he realized that she was going to be difficult about this. "Okay, Lovi, how about this?" He scooped up a forkful of the pasta, spinning it around to get a good mouthful, then leaning over, held it in front of her mouth.

She started to open her mouth—to yell at him, not to accept it—which he took as an invitation to feed it to her.

Feed it to her…

Damn it. They were going to look like a couple now.

She hurriedly leaned back, chewing on the mouthful. It was definitely good. Not surprising, since her Grandfather had been hired in to make the entire dinner. Excellent, really. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

And now she glanced over to see that Antonio was twirling the fork in the dish again and then brought it to his own lips.

Wait. That was the same fork that she'd just…

Damn it! That was like an indirect kiss!

Okay, nevermind that she'd almost shared a direct kiss with him in his car.

And nevermind that she had really been expecting another attempt…a more successful one…for the entire night.

And nevermind that she was watching his lips now and was starting to lean closer to him without either of them entirely noticing…

"Here, darling. Hope the wait wasn't too long. Bon appétit!"

Lovina broke back into reality at those words and suddenly realized that she was close to Antonio.  _Very_ close to Antonio… Meaning that their lips were only centimeters away…

She made a high-pitched squeak of surprise and started to draw back, shocked by her own actions. What the hell? How had she ended up—?

And suddenly she was even closer to Antonio.

As he'd slipped an arm around her back and pulled her up so he could press his lips against hers.

She wasn't given time to think of anything. Except that he smelled like tomato sauce and his lips were really quite soft. And then she was released and he turned back to his plate. As if nothing had just happened.

…What. The. Fuck?


	4. Chapter 4

Lovina didn't often consider the pros and cons of stabbing someone with a butter knife. Occasionally she'd semi-seriously plan how she'd get rid of the potato bastard if he ever decided to try getting any closer to her sister. She was on Plan T.3 right now. She'd started with just naming each after a letter in the alphabet, but then had run out of letters and had to start over. Twice.

She'd never considered committing a murder in the middle of a school dance before, though.

It seemed like there was a first time for everything though.

And Antonio was very very close to getting stabbed with the butter knife she was now attacking her roll with; not even noticing that she'd basically shredded it to pieces by now. That bastard was talking with his friends as if nothing had just happened. As if he hadn't just kissed her right in front of everybody!

Okay, not really everybody, as she doubted that most people had even been paying attention, but still! Her sister could have been watching! Even the potato bastard could have seen her!

She flushed slightly and glanced down at her pasta, finally noticing that she'd massacred her roll beyond human consumption. She hurriedly dropped the knife and then grabbed a fork and distractedly began to spin it in the pasta. And why wasn't he doing anything else? He hadn't said anything. Or tried to do it again…

Was she really that bad at kissing? He hadn't given her a chance to really do anything!

Not that she would have done anything!

Ugh… She didn't even feel like eating anything anymore. Bastard. She should stab him just for that.

She could definitely kiss better than anybody else. Not that she'd actually ever done it before, but if someone like  _Antonio_ could do it, then she definitely could… He just hadn't given her enough of a chance to do anything.

Agh! She was going to go insane if she had to sit here any longer!

So she stood and grabbed onto the back of Antonio's jacket. "We're going to the restroom."

"Eh? What?" The motion startled him into dropping his fork onto the table, where it bounced before falling onto the floor.

"Come with me, bastard," she ordered, tugging again on his collar, forcing him to stand up or risk being strangled.

"But, Lovi, I'm not done with my meal." He cast a look toward Francis and Gill, both of whom grinned widely in response and flashed him a thumbs up.

Lovina didn't even notice; she was too busy cursing at herself, as she dragged him out of the room and into the brightly lit hallway.

"You're a bastard," she remarked, as she spun around and shoved him into the wall. Probably not the best way to start a conversation, but it was a fact worth repeating.

Antonio just grinned back and leaned against the wall beside the entrance to the gymnasium. There were a few couples standing out in the hallway, talking quietly to each other, away from the crowds or making out in a slightly more private setting. Lovina flashed them an irritated glare; not that they would notice or care. More for the principle of the matter. Since they were having fun when she was hungry and irritated and Antonio was practically ignoring her.

"What did you want to talk about, Lovi?" Antonio questioned, as he slipped his hands into his pockets and glanced back into the darker gymnasium.

She really wanted to throw something at him. Possibly a shoe. That would actually kill two birds with one stone. She would be showing her displeasure to this idiot while simultaneously getting rid of these painful, evil creations that she was pretty sure had been created by some misogynist for the sole purpose of torturing random, unsuspecting females.

"Why did you kiss me?"

For a few moments, Antonio remained silent. He just continued to stare into the gymnasium, almost as if he hadn't heard her. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth to ask again and demand an answer, when he remarked in a precise, clipped tone. "I guess it's because I'm in love with you."

For a long moment, Lovina was frozen in shock. Wha—what?

How in the world could someone say something like that with such a straight face? For a long while, she just stared at him in shock. He was still staring into the gymnasium, his expression not revealing his thoughts. Although he wasn't smiling. He looked oddly serious…

She suddenly realized that she didn't like this. She didn't like it when Antonio acted serious like this. It was so different than his usual self. She was used to the Antonio who was all smiles and would suddenly appear out of nowhere to offer to buy her lunch or carry her books or who would slip little notes into her locker.

"You—you're…"

He glanced toward her now, his expression still rather blank. "I really love you, Lovi. And…I want to know how you feel about me. Do you really hate me?"

Where had this come from all of a sudden? "Ah—"

He held up his hand to stop her, suddenly now staring at her, his expression forcibly calm. "Not now. Think about it. I don't want you to make a quick decision."

"Why—?"

"If you don't like me, then I'm going to stop pursuing you. I decided that while we were dancing. I don't want to force you into something that you don't want, so I decided that I'll stop being selfish." He now grinned, but not with his usual smile. This was forced… She felt her stomach clench at the hurt that flickered for a second through his eyes. "Just because I love you doesn't mean that I should try to keep you all for myself, right?"

She couldn't answer him. Her mind was trying to wrap around what he'd just said. He'd stop…pursuing her? No more little notes in her locker, no more waiting for her after class… But, he'd been doing that since she was a little kid. Antonio had always been there—an annoying, familiar presence that had been there since her childhood.

"I should probably get back before my meal gets cold," he remarked when she didn't respond, starting to turn to leave.

No. No way was he leaving like this. Lovina suddenly reached out to grab his sleeve, jerking him to a stop. "Don't you dare leave without letting me talk, bastard."

He winced slightly at the tone. "I said that you should think about it, Lovina."

…He'd never used her full name before. It sent a jerk down to her stomach. She didn't like this. She didn't like Antonio acting like this…

"You just said that you wanted to stop being selfish, so what do you think you're doing right now?"

"But, Lovin—"

"And don't you dare call me by my full name!"

Now Antonio just looked confused. "But you hate me calling you Lovi—"

"You've been calling me that since I was five. Don't stop now just because you're being an idiot."

"I don't understand." Now he turned fully towards her.

Lovina wasn't even sure what she was doing. She knew that people were staring at them. She had caught a glimpse of Ally and Arthur stopping in the middle of their argument over whether Ally was going to wear her bomber jacket into the dance to watch them. But…she found herself not caring. Because Antonio was talking about staying away from her, wasn't he?

"So you're saying that you want to suddenly start acting differently around each other? You're just going to start avoiding me?"

"I—Lovi—I—" he hesitated, then… "Yes, because I realized tonight that I really do love you…and I don't want anyone else to be around you and—" He took a step closer and pushed her chin up with his fingers so she was staring up into his eyes. "And I can't stop myself from doing this when I'm around you." And then he lowered his lips to hers.

Lovina hesitated for the smallest fraction of a moment, her mind short-circuiting at the feeling of those soft lips against hers. And then he started to pull away…

And she suddenly slid her arms around his neck and pushed on the back of his head, forcing him back down to stay with her.

No. There was no way that she was letting Antonio suddenly leave her like this. At least not before she showed him that she could definitely hold her own in a kissing match.

Although he was definitely showing that he was a formidable opponent. His hands had slipped around her waist at some point and were now pressing her up against his body so he could kiss her from a better angle.

And then one of the hands disappeared from her back, although the other made up for it by kneading the skin that the open-backed dress left exposed.

They broke apart after what seemed like some amount of time that wasn't near long enough for her to have shown her true kissing prowess.

For a few moments, they just stared at each other, Lovina feeling her skin starting to heat up as the realization of what she'd just done actually broke into her brain. She'd just kissed Antonio.

And she'd enjoyed it.

And she greatly wanted to do it again.

"Am I supposed to take that as your answer to how you feel about me?" he questioned, a slight smirk twisting his lips into a more natural smile.

She flushed an even deeper red and turned her head slightly to the side. "Bastard."

He laughed at her remark and then suddenly the missing hand reappeared in a fist. "Open your hand."

She stared at him suspiciously, but slowly pulled her arms away from his neck and opened a hand, eyeing the fist suspiciously. "What is it?"

He didn't answer, instead held his fist over her hand and then opened it.

A ring dropped into her palm. A little silver ring, engraved with lines of ivy. And nestled in the middle was a beautiful emerald.

"I know that's your favourite gem…Ummm…" Antonio flushed slightly as she stared in shock at the piece of jewelry. "I—I wanted to know if you'd go steady with me."

…Wait. What?

He'd given her a ring.

What kind of guy gave a girl a ring like this when he asked her to be his girlfriend? You'd think he was trying to propose or something.

"Ah—how—how much did this cost?" It was definitely a real emerald. And she knew that there was no way Antonio could afford something like this. Especially when he was still trying to afford a car…

He flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I—I borrowed the money from Francis. That doesn't matter, though. I just wanted to give you something nice… I know it's not even close to what you deserve, but…" He trailed off and rubbed at the nape of his neck nervously as she just stared at the ring in shock. "If you don't like it, don't feel like you have to accept it."

"You're an idiot." She continued to stare at it for a moment and then slowly lifted it from her palm and slipped it onto her left ring finger, extending her fingers to examine the beautiful jewel.

Antonio watched her for a moment, feeling his stomach twist in nervousness before he finally asked again, this time more softly, "So, will you go out with me?"

She glanced up, looking a little surprised, as if she'd been lost in thought as she examined the ring.

"I—" she flushed and glanced back toward the ring with an almost loving gaze. "I—guess it wouldn't be completely awful to go out with you. Better than Sadiq at least."

Antonio stared at her for a few more moments, his expression between emptiness, to confusion, to hope, and then to joy as he started to laugh loudly, startling the few people that hadn't been watching the spectacle already to turn their attention to them.

"I guess that's as close to a yes as I'll get from you," he chuckled, shaking his head slightly before returning his arms to her waist and pulling her back up into a kiss.

She would have responded by calling him a complete idiot, but it was hard to insult someone coherently when you were attempting to kiss them senseless.

Although her thoughts were rather effectively brought back into the present when she heard a sudden squeal of excitement.

They broke apart, surprised by the sound, and turned…to see that Gill, Mattie, Francis, Feliciana, and the potato bastard were all standing in the entrance to the gymnasium. Gill was grinning brightly, Mattie smiling less brightly but still with obvious pleasure. Francis was smirking and had the gall to wink at her. The potato bastard looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else than here right now. And Feliciana was squealing and jumping up and down.

"Yay! Yay! I knew that you'd get together! I knew it! I knew it!" She suddenly seemed to catch a glimpse of the ring around Lovina's finger and squealed even louder. "Eeh! Is Lovina engaged too? Yay! I want to help plan the wedding! Do I get to be the maid of honour?"

Lovina couldn't respond for a long while, her brain attempting to figure out what had just happened. And then she screeched in anger and ran toward them. "You bastards! Get out of here! I am not engaged to that idiot!"

Feliciana ignored her, continuing to giggle excitedly. "I want to help you pick out your dress, Lovi!"

"Are you even listening to me?" Feliciana seemed to realize that her sister was about to kill her, so she hurriedly ducked under Ludwig's arm and hurried back into the gymnasium. Lovina followed, not taking the time to duck and just running right into Ludwig, knocking him back against the wall.

"I'm going to kill you, Feliciana!"

"Lovi's getting married! Lovi's getting married!"

For a few moments, everyone just stared at the girls' retreating backs, before Francis walked up to his friend and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Congratulations, but what happened to the 'take Lovina to one of the broom cabinets and seduce her until she completely breaks down' plan? I thought that plan was much more entertaining. And fun." He winked lewdly at that.

Antonio grinned back at his friend for a moment, chuckling. Until he suddenly turned slightly and brought his elbow straight up into Francis's nose.

Francis yelped loudly at the sudden pain joining the already prevalent throbbing and threw his hands up to cover his now even more injured face.

"I don't remember that plan, Francis. And I'd appreciate it if you don't speak about my girlfriend in that way. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go make sure that Lovina doesn't murder her little sister or break her ankle by running in those heels."

He immediately left to follow them, Ludwig sighing and joining him.

Gill immediately started to laugh, pointing toward Francis and giggling madly. "Haha, you deserved that!" Then she turned her slightly evil grin toward the quiet girl standing beside her and grabbed her arm, tugging her away from the whining Francis and toward one of the empty halls. "Francis does have a point, though. Right, Mattie? It seems like a shame to let such a wonderful plan go unused."

Mattie immediately blushed brightly, turning her head away slightly. "Ah—I guess—"

They disappeared around one of the corners, leaving Francis holding his hand against his now bleeding nose.

Well, was that the thanks he got for trying to help? He groaned and then glanced around…to see Arthur standing with a rather horrified-looking Ally.

"Hey, wait…Mattie! Don't you dare go with her!" Ally suddenly exclaimed, racing in the direction that the two girls had taken earlier.

Leaving Arthur alone.

With Francis.

Francis started to grin, wiping the blood from his face as Arthur cast him an irritated glare. Oh well, this night could still be rather entertaining.

"If you even think about it—" Arthur started.

Like Francis would ever listen to that sort of threat…

"Ah, mon cher…"


End file.
